Tesla CEO Elon Musk has incessantly expressed his opinions on LiDAR previously, however in latest days, the EV maker’s frontman has continued to debate the weaknesses within the expertise and why his firm has relied on cameras.
He additionally talked about the suite’s limits on Waymo’s capabilities.
Tesla utterly deserted utilizing radar alongside its digital camera suite a number of years in the past, one thing it known as “Tesla Imaginative and prescient” on the time. For its automobiles, it has solely used cameras since this transition, and Musk has by no means as soon as shied away from this technique.
Earlier this week, he mentioned the reliance of LiDAR and radar by different corporations:
“Lidar and radar scale back security attributable to sensor rivalry. If lidars/radars disagree with cameras, which one wins?
This sensor ambiguity causes elevated, not decreased, danger. That’s why Waymos can’t drive on highways.
We turned off radars in Teslas to extend security. Cameras ftw.”
Elon Musk argues lidar and radar make self driving automobiles extra harmful
He continued with this narrative once more and talked about Waymo particularly on a second event.
Musk’s focus this time was on Waymo automobiles and their capabilities in hostile climate, particularly snow, rain, and even mud storms, and how LiDAR struggles to navigate in these situations.
He mentioned:
“LiDAR additionally doesn’t work properly in snow, rain or mud attributable to reflection scatter. That’s why Waymos cease working in any heavy precipitation. As I’ve mentioned many occasions, there’s a position for LiDAR in some circumstances and I personally oversaw the event of LiDAR for the SpaceX Dragon docking with Area Station. I’m properly conscious of its strengths and weaknesses.”
LiDAR additionally doesn’t work properly in snow, rain or mud attributable to reflection scatter. That’s why Waymos cease working in any heavy precipitation.
As I’ve mentioned many occasions, there’s a position for LiDAR in some circumstances and I personally oversaw the event of LiDAR for the SpaceX…— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2025
Tesla’s method is considerably totally different than most corporations. Waymo, Motional, Aurora, and Zoox all use LiDAR for his or her self-driving applications, whereas Tesla continues to depend on its camera-only method.
Musk even mentioned that Mannequin S and Mannequin X utilized a Tesla-developed high-resolution radarnevertheless it couldn’t “examine to passive optical (cameras), so we turned it off.”
Tesla developed excessive decision radar and the {hardware} is definitely current in Mannequin S & X, nevertheless it simply can’t examine to passive optical (cameras), so we turned it off.
As a aspect notice, any army programs that depend on radar “stealth” expertise are toast in a contemporary battle,…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2025
